The Enemy
by ComeBackWhen
Summary: 10kiaoi's tumblr prompt: There is an increase in worrying incidents of Soldiers getting maimed grievously or killed outright during active duty. The number is just too high to be casual accidents. After one of the generals is put in a coma during such a mission, it become apparent that someone is targeting Soldier as a whole. It just happens to be the company they work for.
1. Chapter 1

Sephiroth plunged his hands into his hair. Reports had been rolling in all week detailing heavy casualties on every Soldier mission that had been assigned. Every single cursed one. Nothing went smoothly, not even simple missions to deal with small monster infestations. He flipped through the folders on his desk. A pack of Kalm fangs took out a pair of Thirds. Monster attacks stemming from a closed coal mine ended with three Seconds dead. Searching for ingredients to manufacture Phoenix Down left six Thirds dead and cost a Second his eyesight. They still weren't sure he was going to recover at all.

It made no sense to Sephiroth. His men were some of the best trained warriors in the world. None of those missions should have resulted in casualties. The reports did not match up either. All the bodies were recovered and appeared to have been killed by a bladed weapon, or multiple bladed weapons, depending on who you asked.

He had tried to suspend all missions until the situation could be taken care of. President Shinra had refused, stating that such a move would make the company appear weak. Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis had tried to argue that the continued losses from Soldier would actually weaken the company, but their words fell on deaf, stupid ears.

Sephiroth flipped through the folders looking for Angeal's latest mission report. It was supposed to have been on his desk first thing that morning. His second-in-command had taken a squad of Seconds to Mideel on a report of rebels who may have been the cause of Soldier's troubles. Both he and Angeal were sure that it was a trap, but they were equally sure that things could not continue the way they were.

The door to his office slammed into the wall. Sephiroth looked up, ready to scorch whoever dared to disturb him. He did not expect to see Genesis his typically pale skin completely without color and eyes wide with fear. Sephiroth was on his feet and striding toward the door before Genesis could make a sound. Only one thing would put his other second in a state like that.

Sephiroth could only draw comfort from the fact that Angeal must still be alive. Genesis would have been inconsolable if Angeal were dead.

The infirmary was swamped, but people gave way before the Silver General. He paused in the waiting room, looking for a sign of where he would find Angeal. A nurse pointed him in the right direction as she rushed into another room with an armful of supplies.

Angeal's bed was the only one in the room. His face was swollen and covered with bruises. If not for his size and dark hair, he would have nearly been unrecognizable. His arms had been set above the blankets and Sephiroth could see a number of nasty cuts and scratches that had probably been far worse when the battle ended.

Zack sat in a chair beside Angeal's bed, letting a doctor poke and prod at him. He looked bone weary, covered in scrapes and scratches, but nothing that looked too bad. Zack waved the man off when he saw Sephiroth and Genesis in the doorway. The doctor forced a glowing green drink into his hand before slipping out past the two Soldiers. Zack made no move to rise or come to attention and that alone spoke volumes about his state of mind. He grimaced and sucked back the ether watching his hand as it glowed red briefly.

"It was an ambush, just like you and Angeal thought it would be, sir." Zack shook his head, looking up at Sephiroth in bewilderment, "And not at all like you thought either."

Genesis stepped further into the room, coming to stand on the opposite side of the bed so he could get a better look at Angeal, "What happened?"

"We arrived at the appointed area, about six miles outside of Mideel. Angeal ordered me to come at a much slower pace, kind of a rear guard. I didn't realize there was a fight until I caught the end of-" Zack swallowed hard, tears prickling at his eyes as he looked down at Angeal, "Sorry. This is not going to be my best report ever."

Sephiroth shook his head, dismissively, "Just tell it."

"Right." Zack nodded, looking pointedly away from his mentor's comatose body, "It looks like they might have been setting up camp for the night. I came across the first bodies in the middle of the half constructed tents. They were all killed by sword strike, each by a blade of differing size."

"That points toward the rebel group theory." Genesis murmured, "A band of fighters with blades from wherever they could scrounge them."

"That's what I thought too, at first." Zack shook his head, eyes still staring at a point on the wall vacantly as he recalled the battlefield, "I followed the destruction and the bodies, hoping to find Angeal alive."

"That was a mistake." Sephiroth said, tone both reprimanding and kind at once somehow.

"I know." Zack gave him a wry smile, "Trust me, I should be very, very dead right now. I came on the very end of the fight. You know how sometimes you three spar and then suddenly you're airborne? You jump off walls and each other… well Angeal did that. They had moved through the trees to that old village that had to be abandoned when mako bubbled up through town. Angeal bounced off the wall between two buildings and got up on the roof.

Genesis and Sephiroth shared a look. That technique was essentially useless unless your opponent could keep up.

"I think he was trying to get away from the guy-"

Genesis's head snapped toward Zack in surprise, "Guy? As in one?"

"Just one." Zack agreed, jaw clenching in anger, "He wasn't anything special looking. If I'd have passed him on the street, I'd never have known… he stands about as tall as my shoulder, maybe a little bit more. Not overly muscular, but strong. He's real fair skinned with hair that's as blonde as a chocobo chick's. You can tell by how he moves that he's a fighter, but he was doing things that I've only seen in exhibitions between the three of you.

"Angeal boosted off the roof as I came into the town. Like I said, I think he did it to get some distance from the guy. He looked about ready for a limit break and Angeal was trying to get too far away for it to do any real damage. It was like the guy was counting on it. As soon as Angeal was off the roof, this guy whipped his blade around. It glowed blue, kind of like Genesis's rapier when he uses it to channel materia, and then it sprung apart into other blades."

Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up as he repeated Zack's words, "The sword split into other swords?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it." Zack glanced at Angeal again and then away as quickly, "The blades circled Angeal, just hanging there a second. The guy pushed off the ground and flew at the first sword, he grabbed it and slashed at Angeal and then went for the next one. It was too quick to keep track of. He would grab a sword and attack and then grab another and attack. Angeal tried to block or move, but the guy was too fast.

"The longest blade had been waiting above Angeal. The guy grabbed it and came down in a heavy chop. Angeal was just barely able to twist aside, so the strike cut him but didn't kill him. He hit the ground hard." Zack jumped up out of his chair and started to pace, "The guy came down behind him, all of his swords dropping and sticking into the ground. He was getting ready to finish Angeal, so I screamed at him."

"Zack!" Genesis hissed, "Are you-"

Zack glared at Genesis, heated enough to stop him mid-sentence, " Angeal would have died! Hell, we both should be dead. That's the weird part! As soon as the guy set eyes on me, he went stiff. He said I wasn't supposed to be there and that he had already said he wouldn't kill me. He turned his back on Angeal and started gathering up those swords… they slotted together! It was one sword that could be broken into other swords.

"He told me to go home… like I was a kid or a dog or something." Zack seethed, "Said I could have my mentor back for now since the deal had been broken. I lost my head, I admit it. I grabbed up Angeal's sword and went after the guy."

Sephiroth watched him trace his fingers over a newly cured scar on his chin, "It was like fighting myself… or Angeal. He knew my moves, anticipated them. He locked us up, got in my face, and told me to go home. I told him to die in a fire… he didn't like that. He unlocked a smaller blade and gave me this to remember him by."

"He let you leave?" Sephiroth asked.

"He forced me to." Zack said, voice a barely controlled growl of rage, "Broke fingers on both hands with the hilt of that smaller sword. By the time I got the fingers set and healed, he was gone. I managed to get Angeal stabilized, but now he won't wake up. Everyone else is dead. Fuck! I just want to kill that little bastard!"

"Zack, calm down!" Genesis pointed at Angeal, "For his sake, if nothing else. They say coma patients can hear and understand you. Is this really what you want him to hear right now?"

Zack rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, "You guys don't understand. It gets worse."

"How could it possibly get worse?" Genesis asked.

"When we were locked up, I got a good look at his eyes behind his sun glasses. They were mako eyes… Soldier eyes." Zack looked up at the two of them, "Where the fuck else do you get eyes like that?"

"Stop talking." Sephiroth said, the quiet command leaving no room for argument.

Zack's mouth dropped open. He did not continue his rant, but it was clear from the stubborn set of his jaw that he wanted to. His eyes flashed with hurt and betrayal, but his mouth remained closed.

Genesis hurried over to him, reaching out and squeezing his arms under the edge of his pauldrens. His grip was too tight for it to be a comforting gesture, "Don't look so stricken, Zack. We know you didn't mean that."

"Of course he didn't." Sephiroth agreed smoothly, "Considering the stress of the day, it is unsurprising."

They both looked at Zack, tense as they waited to see what he would say. Sephiroth's face was carefully empty, revealing nothing. Genesis glared at Zack, hoping that he was half as smart as Angeal had always led them to believe.

Zack let his gaze drop from his two superiors with a groan, "You're right. I… didn't mean that. Sorry."

It was barely convincing. Zack still sounded too angry, but he was going along with their prompting. That was the more important part. Genesis squeezed his arms briefly in approval before letting him go.

Sephiroth glanced at Genesis, "I believe it is time."

"Past time." Genesis replied, "It's abundantly clear that Angeal intends to keep him and I'd say rescuing the man proves Zack's worth."

Sephiroth turned his gaze back to Zack, "Since Angeal is indisposed, I will be recommending you for First Class. You may choose to wait a few days to see if Angeal improves before your enhancements if you like."

"Angeal said he didn't think I would be ready for months yet… maybe longer." Zack ran his hands through his hair as he looked up at Sephiroth, "You serious?"

"Practically always." Genesis said, nudging Sephiroth teasingly, "In normal times, you probably would still remain a Second under Angeal's training a while longer."

Sephiroth crossed his arms, "These are not normal times, but you are more than capable."

Despite the strangeness of the situation, Zack felt pride. Sephiroth was not free with compliments. He would never have said something like that to spare a subordinate's feelings, regardless of what was going on.

"I only hope that Angeal will forgive me for taking a moment that should rightfully be his." Sephiroth murmured, gaze on Angeal's unmoving form.

"Things will be much more difficult once he's up and about again. Ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest. We should let him enjoy his… sleep while he can." Genesis gave Zack a tired smile, "I think we could all use a break for the evening. Let's take the soon-to-be first out for a celebratory meal, hm?"

It was too casual, the way Sephiroth inclined his head toward the door and Genesis smiled at him. Zack could almost pretend that Genesis and Sephiroth were keeping an eye on him while Angeal was on a mission. That had never done that before, even in the early days of Angeal's mentoring. If someone were observing them, though, the scene would look perfectly normal. The realization hit him like a bucket of cold water. Sephiroth and Genesis suspected they were being watched.

Zack spun to face Angeal, trying to find the easy calm that Sephiroth and Genesis wore like armor. He patted Angeal's ankle over the blankets, "Don't think this gets you out of celebrating with me, 'Geal. I'm not even gonna wait, that way you have to feed a First Class appetite instead of a Second. Serves you right for almost getting…"

He trailed off, not able to finish the thought, even as a joke. He headed for the door, knowing that Sephiroth and Genesis would be right behind him. Hopefully he could get some answered once they were out of the Shinra Building.


	2. Chapter 2

Zack had taken to prowling the building. He doubted there was a single floor he had not walked every inch of. Energy tingled under his skin and raced along his veins. Genesis assured him the feeling was perfectly normal for several days following enhancement to First Class. Three days in and Zack did not feel any better. It made him want to rip his own skin off.

He had killed as many VR sim monsters as he could stand, done squats until he tore out the back seam of his favorite boots, and spent hours running sword kata forms with Angeal's sword until his arms burned too much to lift it. None of it helped to burn off the excess energy.

The only bright spot of the whole day was that Angeal was finally awake. He had barely been coherent and fell into a more natural sleep after the doctors had finished examining him, but they seemed to think he would recover.

Zack had hurried to tell Sephiroth and Genesis the good news. They were both relieved. After everything they had revealed at his "celebratory" dinner, Zack could hardly blame them. He had learned more than he ever wanted to know about Soldier and the tests done on the three powerful Firsts that had brought the program to where it was. Sephiroth confirmed that they had believed Shinra behind the attack on Soldier. That was why Angeal had taken the mission in the first place.

Shinra was full of monsters. Zack had always believed that he was doing real good by joining Soldier. As he grew stronger, he would be able to protect the helpless and save lives. He thought that was what Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis did on a daily basis. Now he knew just how corrupt the company truly was. The stories Sephiroth and Genesis had told him about missions they have been assigned had given him nightmares. It was nothing like he had expected it to be.

In the end, he had taken the enhancement to First anyway. Despite it all, he believed they could do better. If they could find proof that Shinra was killing Soldiers, the entire force would defect. They could take their power to Wutai or Cosmo Canyon, one of the few remaining independent powers, and overthrow Shinra's hold on the world. The regular army would never be able to stand up to Soldier and Shinra would not be able to replace Soldier fast enough to mount a successful attack.

Sephiroth said they would cross that bridge when they reached it. Genesis had flat out called him a naïve optimist. They both demanded caution from Zack, pointing out that he would have to survive long enough for them to find proof of Shinra's guilt before anything could change. He had promised to watch himself.

He had even meant it, until he found himself walking the cadet training floor.

The blonde hair was like a beacon. Once Zack spotted it, he could not take his eyes off of it. The spikes appeared and vanished in a sea of cadets making their way through the halls. Every detail of that blonde asshole was burned into his brain and there was no doubt that he was looking at the back of the man responsible for so much death. Zack followed the bobbing blonde head, waiting until the crowd thinned out. The last thing he wanted was cadet casualties.

How had he managed to hide among the cadets? That amount of skill would be impossible to disguise, not to mention the mako eyes. It made no sense.

The blonde knew he was being followed, he had realized it quickly. Zack could see it in the way his fingers clenched and his shoulders tightened. He made no move to try and lose Zack, continuing down the hall past where the rest of the cadets were turning off to reach their barracks.

Once they were clear, Zack stopped and called out, "Hey, Blondie."

"Fine. Let's just get this over-" The cadet turned, his glare aimed at the middle of Zack's chest, "-with?"

Zack honestly was not sure who was more surprised. His enemy's eyes slowly climbed until they reached his face. The little cadet- and he was little… Zack wondered how he could have missed the height difference- gaped up at him, horrified. He quickly stepped to attention, thrusting his chest out and his chin up, "Sir! I'm sorry sir! You were not who I thought you were."

"Yeah, uh, you either." Zack moved closer to the cadet. The boy was much younger than the Soldier killer and several inches shorter. There was no hint of mako in his blue eyes, but his face was exactly the same.

"Is there something I can… do for you, First Class Fair, sir?" He asked, trying not to shift away from Zack's intense scrutiny.

"You know who I am?" Zack murmured, immediately suspicious again.

"Who doesn't know who you are? Sephiroth himself promoted you for valor." Hearing hushed awe from the voice that had told him he could keep his mentor a while longer made the hair on the back of Zack's neck stand up. The cadet blushed and looked down at his boots, "Sorry. We've just all been talking about it, sir. "

Zack glanced at the name stitched onto the cadet's uniform shirt, "That's alright, Strife is it?"

Strife. How fitting.

"Yes, sir, Cloud Strife." The cadet said, standing a little taller.

Cloud Strife? That was… less fitting.

Zack bit back a smile at Cloud's eagerness, "Listen, Cloud, you uh… got any family in the military? Maybe in Soldier?"

"Oh… I don't know." Cloud fidgeted uncomfortably, "My father worked for Shinra… but Ma didn't like to talk about him. They weren't… well acquainted when I was… uh born. That's part of why I joined up, I thought maybe someone would recognize me."

Zack silently let out a long string of curses. Cloud was looking up at him sidelong, trying to hide the hope that Zack knew his father. It was unsettling. The logical thought would be to assume that the stone cold bastard was this kid's father, but their faces were identical and voices too similar to be different people. Of course, this cadet was obviously not the one who had attacked Angeal either.

"I'll, uh, keep an eye out." Zack said, scratching the back of his neck anxiously, "From the back you looked like a guy I met once, but he couldn't be your dad."

Cloud nodded, trying to cover his disappointment, "Well, I hope you find whoever you were looking for."

"Thanks, Cloud. I'll see you around, I'm sure." Zack tossed him a wave, trying to look calmer than he felt. He needed to go find Sephiroth and Genesis so they could tell him he was losing his mind, "If I think of anybody who might be… you know… I'll send them down to have a word with you."

He smiled and ducked his head, "I appreciate that, sir. Trust me, I'm not getting my hopes up or anything. Goodbye."

Zack turned and rushed back the way he had come. He had to fight not to turn around and look when he felt Cloud's eyes watching him leave. Logic was telling him that the cadet could not be the enemy, but his instincts were all screaming for him to run.


	3. Chapter 3

"There is no hate, only joy; For you are beloved by the goddess."

Angeal stirred, fingers twitching against the rough cotton of his infirmary blanket. Genesis's smooth voice helped anchor him in awareness this time. Every inch of him throbbed painfully. He had not felt this bad in a number of years, but he was awake.

Goddess help him, he was awake.

"Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds."

He could feel the tears prickling behind his closed eyelids and drew in a deep breath to try and keep them at bay. Angeal could feel Genesis's eyes on him, but his oldest friend was thankfully silent, giving him the time he needed to pull himself together. This moment of weakness would be all he could be afforded. Sephiroth and Genesis would need him. Zack would need him.

Zack. He knew rationally that his young protégé was the only reason he was not dead, but that did not stop him from being furious. Angeal had no idea what had possessed Zack to step into a fight that was obviously lost. The lunatic he had been fighting had put down a First with a whole squad of Seconds as backup. What did Zack think a lone Second could really do about it?

Angeal did not enjoy fighting, not the way that Sephiroth and Genesis did. The pair of them lived for the thrill of battle and the skill of a good opponent. Angeal saw his skills as the means to an end. He had been happier training Zack than he had ever been while leading a charge against an enemy. Either of his friends would have been in their element in Mideel. Maybe that was why he had lost.

When Sephiroth had asked him to take the mission, he had said that they needed the cooler head that Angeal could offer. The situation was tricky and would benefit from his careful observation. It would be too easy for Genesis to lose himself in the fight and the President would not allow Sephiroth out on a mission that was more than a day from Midgar. Probably because he knew that Sephiroth would not return until the threat had been dealt with.

He had told Sephiroth that he was going to bring Zack with, but to omit his name from the mission roster. As a Second, it would be easy enough for Zack to slip into the transport without anyone being wise to it. Without an official record, he would have the freedom to report back if things fell apart. If Shinra really had been behind the attacks, they would not know to look for Zack.

They had expected an ambush. They had not expected to be massacred by one lone swordsman.

Angeal had never had a fight like that in his life. He, Genesis and Sephiroth often pushed each other to the ends of their endurance, but no training could prepare you for a life or death fight. The blonde had been too fast and too skilled. He had strength that far surpassed anything Shinra had to offer. Angeal had never stood a chance, especially after the fighter had hit his limit break.

It had been brutal, the way the blades had cut into his skin. Each wound came too quickly to recover from. No matter which way you tried to dodge, there was another blade waiting. He had avoided the final attack by sheer dumb luck when he flinched at the sight of Zack in his peripheral vision. Before that, he had fully expected his opponent to land the killing blow.

The blonde's reaction to Zack made no sense, but it did confirm the thing that he and Sephiroth had both suspected since Shinra had refused to allow Sephiroth to suspend Soldier missions. The swordsman had admitted to having access to the mission rosters when he told Zack that he wasn't supposed to be there.

The only missing piece was what specifically kept Zack safe.

"Alright, that's quite enough brooding, Angeal." Genesis's voice was still soft, but stern, "Open your eyes and let us know that you still possess all your mental faculties."

With a groan, Angeal did as directed and opened his eyes. At some point, Zack and Sephiroth had arrived. Or maybe they had always been there and had been content to listen to Genesis read Loveless while the waited for him to wake. Genesis gave him a small smile from the seat he occupied beside him. Sephiroth leaned against the wall at the foot of his bed, looking exhausted but relieved. Zack stood on the opposite side of the bed from Genesis, grinning at him like he was not lying in the infirmary.

His eyes were too bright. Angeal groaned and let his eyes shut again. The situation must have been worse than he realized if they had promoted Zack to First while he was unconscious.

Just how long had he been out?

Angeal forced his eyes open again, "I want out of this bed."

"Good." Sephiroth said, a small smirk on his lips, "You've been in it for far too long anyway."

When he pushed himself up on his elbows, Genesis and Zack leaned forward to support him. Zack squeezed a shoulder, "Easy there, Angeal. Let us help you up."

"Don't strain yourself." Genesis added.

He wanted to be caught up on what had happened after he lost the fight in Mideel. He wanted to know what was so bad that Sephiroth and Genesis would promote his student without waiting for his consent. He wanted a decent meal and to be away from the company that would have been glad to see him dead.

Angeal accepted Genesis's help to stand as he swung his legs to the floor. Sephiroth handed him a spare uniform and the three headed for the door to give him the privacy to change. He doubted the doctors would let them go so easily, but in the end it would not matter. Too much had changed for Angeal to feel comfortable enough to stay in a Shinra infirmary for any reason.

He could hear Sephiroth commanding the doctor to stand aside as soon as he opened the door. No one argued with that voice. In the waiting room, Sephiroth stood ignoring the doctor's attempt to convince him to leave Angeal behind, any hint of fatigue hidden behind an imposing mask. Genesis stood on his left looking as he usually did, bored and self-assured. Zack had taken up a position behind the General's right shoulder. His usual easy-going smile now had a hint of steel behind it. He looked like he belonged, no longer just Angeal's student. Angeal easily fell back into place at Sephiroth's right hand.

The doctor looked on helplessly as the four of them strode out of the infirmary without a backwards glance.

Angeal forced himself to move without letting on how stiff he felt. They needed to look unbroken and in control. He tilted his chin up and shoved down the part of himself that wished he had never woken up. His pride and honor as a Soldier would not allow that kind of weakness now that he was on his feet again.

They moved swiftly through the building, tying up loose ends so they could be gone for the rest of the afternoon. They retrieved weapons from Genesis and Sephiroth's offices. Angeal was surprised when Zack disappeared into his own room to retrieve the Buster Sword along with his own sword.

Zack had only shrugged as he turned the blade over to its rightful owner, "Carrying it was as good as having you around to keep me in line. It weighs enough that I couldn't ignore it if I wanted to. I probably would have been better behaved if you had made me carry that as part of my training. It's like having your worst glare following me around."

It was just the sort of thing that Zack would have always said, but there was a hidden subtext that was new. Angeal grinned and squeezed Zack's shoulder in apology. He had been forced to do the last of his growing up too quickly since Mideel and Angeal had forced him to do it alone.

No one stopped them when they requisitioned a car, although Sephiroth eyed the troopers on security detail like he hoped that they would. Instead of stopping at one of the restaurants they often frequented when they needed to discuss something privately, Zack hurried into a Wutaian take-out place to pick up their to-go order.

The trip out to the wastes was faster than was probably safe, but Sephiroth's reflexes allowed him to handle the vehicle with ease at any speed. They left the car on the road and continued up the path into the hills. There was a flat patch at the edge of a cliff where they could watch for anyone who might follow them from Midgar while they ate.

Zack collapsed to the ground with a growl, "I don't know how you guys put up with this. I feel like everybody's staring at me."

"Years of practice." Genesis replied with a snort, "It will be easier now that we can actually do something."

"Bring me up to speed." Angeal said, sitting cross-legged on a boulder and ignoring the way his lingering wounds pulled, "Why is Zack a First? How long have I been down?"

"It's been a week and a half since the mission in Mideel." Sephiroth replied as he passed food around, "I recommended him for promotion after he brought you back."

Genesis knew the guilty look on Angeal's face too well, "We made sure he understood what he was getting himself into."

"It was my choice, Angeal." Zack added quietly, "I'm not just going to sit back and see what happens next. I'm going to help."

Angeal nodded and tucked into his food. Zack was a grown man who could make his own choices. Between mouthfuls he said, "I'm sure you've all realized that Shinra is behind this."

"No, we just thought the wastes made for a nice view during dinner." Genesis replied tartly, "We rushed you out of bed, just so you could enjoy it with us."

Angeal dug out a piece of broccoli with his chopsticks and threw it at Genesis. The redhead caught it neatly in his mouth. They all chuckled briefly before Angeal started again, "I'm sure Zack told you what happened. The guy knew that Zack wasn't supposed to be on the mission. Someone from Shinra is feeding him information. What do we do?"

"It is an unfortunate thing." Sephiroth said, somberly. He looked down into his carton of food with a sigh, "With things being the way they are in Wutai, not to mention all the trouble here, we are dangerously short staffed."

Zack crammed a vegetable roll in his mouth to keep from laughing. Even Genesis was failing to keep a smile at bay. Angeal arched an eyebrow at the Silver General, "Oh?"

"Until Shinra can guarantee their safety, every First Class Soldier, excluding myself, has refused to take another mission." Sephiroth glanced at Angeal slyly, leaving no question in Angeal's mind of who might have reminded the Firsts of their right to refuse missions, "Of course, this has caused insubordination in the ranks. You would not believe some of the things that have gone on. Nearly every Second Class Soldier is awaiting a disciplinary hearing."

"Even with Gen and I helping, it's nearly impossible to see everyone." Zack added, grinning mischievously, "Especially since they have to take the time to walk me through the process."

Genesis snorted, "Honestly, Angeal, your student is so dim. I can't imagine how you ever taught him anything. We've been over the meeting structure a dozen times and he still gets it wrong."

"I'm doing my best!" Zack said in a voice so insincere that Angeal could not help but laugh.

"Without Firsts and Seconds to lead the Thirds, we've hit a standstill." Sephiroth finished, "No one has been out on a mission in a week."

Angeal stared at his three dearest friends with disbelief, "I can't believe none of you has been killed yet."

"We've been keeping together for safety's sake." Zack admitted, "No one spends too long alone and we've all kept a close eye on you. The noise the Seconds have been making is enough to remind Shinra that Soldier is like a chocobo and without a head it would run amok leaving a trail of blood behind."

"Shiva's bright eyes, Zack, we're eating here." Genesis said, scowling at the dark haired young man over his carton of food, "That's disgusting."

"But apt." Sephiroth added.

Angeal forced his friends to focus, "So who is this guy?"

Sephiroth and Genesis shared a look. Surprisingly, it was Zack set aside his food and reached for a bag he had brought with him out of his room, "Alright. I have a theory. It's completely insane, but I can't come up with anything else. I wanted to wait until Angeal was up before I mentioned it."

He pulled out one of the green folders that housed the paperwork of a cadet. Angeal's eyes widened as Zack held out a picture of the man who had nearly killed him.

"This is Cloud Strife. He was born in Nibelheim and is currently a fifteen year old cadet." Zack handed the picture over to Sephiroth, so he and Genesis could look it over, "The man that Angeal and I fought was older… probably almost thirty… but that was definitely him."

"Father?" Sephiroth suggested, studying the photograph.

"This isn't just a good resemblance." Zack said, "This is same person and same person. I was walking the cadet floor a couple days back and saw his hair from behind. I didn't realize that it wasn't the same guy until I confronted him."

Genesis growled in frustration, "You saw what you thought was a dangerous Soldier killer on the cadet floor and engaged him without backup?"

Zack folded his arms across his chest defensively, "I was afraid I'd lose him. If anything started, you all were in the building. You would have been there in plenty of time to back me up."

"That's why I've been holding off on promoting him." Angeal said, as if Zack had not spoken, "He's got the skills, he just isn't mature enough to think before he jumps in with both feet."

"This is not the time." Sephiroth said, ending the argument before it could begin, "Obviously, this Cloud Strife is not the same person who fought the two of you."

"That's where my crazy theory comes in." Zack drew in a deep breath and let it out with a rush, steeling himself, "I think he grows up to become the guy who has been killing Soldiers."

They were all silent a moment before Genesis rolled his eyes, "Time travel?"

"Really, Zack-"

Sephiroth held up a hand to keep Angeal from scolding Zack, "There were scientific theories on materia that were explored some time before the Soldier program was ever imagined. One of those was that certain combinations of materia, used under very specific conditions, could effectively alter the fabric of time. The theories were dismissed as useless when they realized that humans would not be able to withstand the strain that such a casting would cause."

Zack perked up, "That might not be a problem with a Soldier… especially with as powerful as this one seems to be."

"This is insane." Genesis muttered, cradling his head in his hands, "You're telling me this… boy grows up to manhood, becomes a First Class Soldier, and then comes back to kill other Soldiers?"

"Or maybe some very specific Soldiers." Angeal said, "What if the early missions were just to draw us out? Once he saw me, he wanted nothing to do with my squad. I think he would have left them alone had they not attacked him. For some reason, he has a deal with Shinra to take us out. For some reason, Zack's safety was part of the deal. When Zack showed up, he let me live to show Shinra that he was the one making the rules."

"So what do we do?" Zack asked, "I mean, we've got to stop him!"

Genesis shook his head, "I still don't believe it could possibly be time travel. That's ridiculous."

Sephiroth stood, handing the photo back to Zack, "Regardless, we have to find him. We will try to figure out his purpose, talk to him if he will and kill him if he won't. We will wait until Angeal is back on his feet and spend time helping Zack get acclimated to his new strength. Once we are ready, Genesis will accept a mission and then we can take the place of his squad at the last moment. With any luck, this Strife will meet us at the mission site and we can end this one way or another."

"Don't wait on my account." Angeal protested, "I'm more than capable."

"Yeah!" Zack agreed, jumping eagerly to his feet.

Genesis scowled at Angeal and poked a spot over his ribs where a nasty cut was still healing. Angeal grunted and curled in on himself. Sephiroth gave them both a withering look, "Neither of you are any good to us if you are not prepared. We have time before Shinra will press us to resume missions."

"So you will heal up properly." Genesis said, nudging Angeal as he stood up and strode toward Zack, "…and you will train. Pick up your sword."

"Do not wear yourself out completely." Sephiroth warned Zack, seeing the anger burning in the younger man's eyes as he glared at Genesis, "Once he has finished with you, you will fight me. Neither of us will go easy on you. It is time you learned some control."

Angeal let out a chuckle that sounded more like a wheeze, "May you both have better luck than I had."

Zack looked away, embarrassed by the low opinions of the Soldiers who had all ushered him through the ranks. Genesis sighed and said, "We each have weaknesses, Zack. The important thing is to accept them and learn to work around them."

"Preferably before they get you killed." Angeal said, voice grim as he ran his hand over the throbbing wound at his side.

"Enough talking." Sephiroth moved to an angle where he could better observe the fight, "Let's begin."

Zack nodded took up a defensive position across from Genesis. The redhead drew his hand along the blade, making fire dance along its edge, before charging Zack in the first round of many.


	4. Chapter 4

"I saw you, Strife! You broke curfew and went below plate."

Sephiroth stepped back into an alcove when he spotted Third Class Tackett addressing a Cadet with blonde spiky hair. Cloud Strife, according to the file Zack had given them. Neither had noticed Sephiroth's approach and he was interested to see what was happening.

Cloud was standing at rest, but there was a tension in his shoulders and his hands behind his back that showed how upset he was. His voice was soft with an undercurrent of anger that he was obviously trying to keep in check while addressing a superior officer, "I never did, sir. Check with my squad mates, they'll tell you I was in the bunk all night.

"Of course they will, they're you're squad mates." Tackett waved Cloud's denial off and gave him a look that was serious, but not unkind, "Listen, kid, you're pretty easy to pick out of a crowd. All Cadets break curfew at least once. I can let that slide. The issue here was that you were below plate with a blade. Weapons are not permitted outside of classwork for Cadets and the slums are dangerous at night… especially for Shinra employees!"

Sephiroth's eyes widened. Tackett had not seen Cloud, he had seen their target. In their week several weeks of mission standby, Strife must have moved into the city. Sephiroth's mind immediately began considering a dozen different scenarios where Strife attacked the building or attempted to assassinate certain high ranking targets.

Cloud's voice reminded him why he had stopped. His tone was stubborn, but his shoulders had curled a little in defeat, "I was in my bunk all night."

"Admit it, kid. It'll go easier on you." Tackett sighed and crossed his arms, "I was coming out of the Wall Market area and saw you. When I called your name, you turned. As soon as you saw me, you took off. You're one of the fastest Cadets we have right now, but I want to know how you managed to lose a Third Class Soldier."

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the headache he felt forming. He could not let Cloud be punished for something he did not do. He also wanted Tackett's report without raising suspicions about what was going on. If the Soldiers believed the man who had been murdering their friends was in the slums, they'd start killing every blonde man they could find… or being killed while they tried to hunt the man.

He strode out of the alcove, making both Tackett and Cloud come to attention. Sephiroth nodded to them both, "As you were, gentlemen. Third Class Tackett, I've been listening to you speak with Cadet Strife. Are you certain of what you saw?"

He was amused by the way Strife's eyes went wide at mention of his name. The faintest blush tinted his cheeks. Sephiroth could hardly believe it. Their Soldier killer had once been a fan. Things just kept getting more and more absurd.

Tackett gave a sharp nod, "Yes, sir."

Sephiroth eyed him, knowing the answer he would get to his next question, but wanting to hear it anyway, "You are not attempting to get Cadet Strife into some sort of trouble with his superiors?"

"No, sir." Tackett sounded a little offended before he could catch himself… an honest reaction if there ever was one, "I like Strife, sir. He's stubborn and a hard worker, even if he's not excelling the way some of his peers are. Skill can be honed, but determination is the stuff Firsts are made of. I was trying to handle it at our level so he did not get into more trouble, sir. Thirds are permitted to sanction Cadets, so long as they remain within regulations. My punishment would have followed protocol."

Sephiroth turned his gaze on Cloud again. The boy had his gaze turned to the wall past the two of them. When he felt Sephiroth's eyes on them, he blinked rapidly a few times but did not dare look back.

"Do you object to allowing me to handle Cadet Strife's discipline?" Sephiroth asked, not surprised when Cloud winced. The boy quickly schooled his expression to blankness again.

"Oh, uh, no sir." Tackett let out a little sigh, "I only hope you won't be too harsh on him."

"Your worry does you credit. I will be fair." Sephiroth glanced back to Tackett, "I ask that you write up a report of the incident immediately. Provide as many details as you can. I will put it in Strife's file along with the report of his discipline so later review shows he was adequately punished for breaking curfew and possessing weaponry."

Tackett actually looked relieved. He probably did like the Cadet, "Yes, sir. I'll send it via mail to you as soon as I can. Please let me know if you need anything else."

Sephiroth dismissed him with a nod. He paused to clap Cloud on the shoulder before he headed down the hallway, leaving the two of them alone. Sephiroth studied the boy a moment. He was small and thin, definitely not the sort of young man they usually saw join the program. Most of the Soldiers he had seen with a build like Cloud's waited until they were older to try their luck.

He turned and headed toward the elevators without a word. As expected, Cloud quickly followed him. Sephiroth could hear him fidgeting as they walked, "You have something to say, Cadet?"

Cloud inhaled sharply, as if surprised to be addressed. When he spoke, his tone was a little sullen, "No, sir."

Sephiroth could feel a smirk tugging at his lips. Stubborn, indeed, "This would be the time to defend yourself. I do not care if you are guilty, but silence will stand as an admission. I suggest you convince me that he was wrong."

For a moment, he was sure Cloud would continue to keep silent. As Cadets, they were taught to take punishment without complaint. Rarely would punishment be unjustified. It was interesting to watch Cloud struggle against what he was taught. Finally, he clenched his hands into fists and said, "I wasn't below the plate, sir, or even awake last night!"

Sephiroth expected the boy to go silent again. Instead, a flood of words followed the first, "I'll admit it, sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and practice on my own. I'm hopeless, sir, but I'm trying. Last night, I was so tired that I was asleep before I could crawl under the covers. I've never been under the plate, I would have no idea where to go! I'd be dead in an hour, sir. Even if I had a sword, which I don't, what could I do with it? I'd be more likely to stab myself with it than defend against an attack."

The honesty was startling. He decided to see if the boy knew anything about what appeared to be his older counterpart, "And the figure that looked when your name was called?"

"If you go under the plate and stand in the middle of the street in the middle of the night yelling the word Strife, some blonde headed man is going to look at you…" Cloud muttered. He suddenly realized who he was addressing again and flushed bright red, "…uh, sir. And most people would run if a Soldier started chasing them."

Sephiroth chuckled at his candor, causing the boy to stare at him in surprise. He shook his head and leaned around Cloud to push the elevator call button, "Don't look so startled, Cadet Strife. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a sense of humor… when it is appropriate."

The boy seemed unsure of how to respond to that, "Oh."

As they stepped onto the elevator together, he took pity on the Cadet, "I believe you, Cloud. That is why I intervened in the first place. There is a delicate mission in progress and you have the… unfortunate luck to look like the target."

Cloud made a noise of alarm, but did not say more. The elevator ride was quick and they emerged on the Soldier floor in less than a minute. Zack walked out of the VR room, a Second Class at his heels. He spotted the two of them immediately and jogged toward them, "Sir?"

"The situation is… changing. Bring Genesis and Angeal to my office immediately." Sephiroth nodded to Cloud, "We are going to need to do something with him, probably for several days while we get this sorted out."

Zack smiled down at Cloud, "Hey kid. Getting yourself into trouble?"

"Without even trying, I guess." Cloud gave him a small smile in return, "It's good to see you again, sir."

"Yeah, you too." He looked back to Sephiroth, as Kunsel approached them slowly.

The Second Class came to attention, "Sir."

"At ease."

Zack grinned, "I've got it. It's almost lunch time, anyway. What if Kunsel escorts Strife here to the Soldier mess. I bet he hasn't had a decent meal since he joined up as a Cadet. The food down there is awful."

"That is an excellent solution." Sephiroth regarded Kunsel a moment, unable to determine anything about the man's feelings with his helmet in place, "I will clear your schedule for the afternoon. You will keep an eye on Cadet Strife until we give you further instructions. Should anyone ask, you are awaiting my judgement for an issue concerning this Cadet."

Kunsel nodded, "Yes, sir. I'm sure we can find ways to pass the time."

"You've always done well working with the Third Classes." Sephiroth said, "Cadet Strife would benefit from some lessons, if you're willing."

"Thank you, sir." Sephiroth could see Kunsel smile under the face place of his helmet, "I'm sure we can work something out, sir."

Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud, "You will not discuss the information I gave you on our way up here. Do you understand, Cadet Strife?"

Cloud gave him a tight smile, "What information, sir?"

"Good." Sephiroth snorted in amusement at the boy's nerve, "Thank you both."

Cloud and Kunsel both came to attention again before heading toward the elevators. It was not hard for Sephiroth to believe that the boy would go on to become a First Class Soldier. He just wished he knew what would cause him to become the killer they would eventually have to face.

Zack's fingers were moving over the keys of his phone as he fell into step beside Sephiroth, "Angeal is on his way to your office as we speak. Genesis says he's already there. He went and got lunch for us and was about to message us so we could meet up."

"In my office?" Sephiroth asked, dryly.

"It's Genesis." Zack shoved his phone in his pocket, "Are you really surprised?"

Angeal met them at the door and the three entered the office to find Genesis arranging plates of food Sephiroth's desk. Sephiroth just shook his head and took his seat. He had not eaten breakfast that morning. He did not realize how hungry he was until he smelled the food.

Zack sank down in one of the open chairs, accepting his plate from Genesis, "Alright, what were you doing with Cloud of all people?"

"What?" Genesis asked, nearly dropping Angeal's lunch in his lap. Angeal swore under his breath and grabbed for his plate before he ended up wearing the food, "When?"

Sephiroth shot Zack a glare as he quickly swallowed his mouthful of food, "I was hoping to eat a bit before we got into this. Cloud was being reprimanded for being in the slums after curfew with a sword. When Third Class Tackett called for him, he ran. I stepped in to keep Cloud from getting into trouble."

"Because it… wasn't Cloud, was it?" Zack asked, setting his food aside. Angeal and Genesis both stared at him.

"It appears that our target has moved into the city." Sephiroth replied flatly, "None of you should be surprised."

Angeal picked at his food, "We're not surprised."

"It's easy to put it out of your mind… personally I've been hoping that Strife, the elder, fell off of a cliff and broke his neck before anything else happened." Genesis shook his head at his own folly, "All that awaits you is a somber morrow; No matter where the winds may blow."

"We knew it was coming." Zack agreed with a sigh, "That doesn't make it easier to stomach."

"So what now?" Angeal asked.

"We need increased security on the Cadet wing. Assume at this point that Strife knows how to get into the building." Sephiroth looked to Angeal, "Once we are done eating, arrange it. Use Cloud's alleged incident as an excuse to keep a guard there."

"Done." Angeal said with a nod and quickly started eating.

Sephiroth turned his attention to Zack, "Do you think that Kunsel would stay with Cloud until we decide what to do? I want to be certain that he is not actually the target. I don't honestly have any doubt, but irrefutable proof would be nice."

Zack nodded, "All I'll have to do is say that Cloud did something to catch your attention and that he's being scouted. That'll make Kunsel stick to him, just to try and figure the mystery out. I'll mention that he's being suggested as a possible mentor for a Third Class that young… since all of our Firsts are involved in big things…"

"His head will explode as he attempts to follow all of the leads." Genesis said with a bark of laughter, "It is unkind to exploit your friends' weaknesses."

Zack chuckled, "It'll also make him too busy to try and figure out what we're really doing. Be glad for that. Otherwise we would risk the two of them showing up while we confront the older Cloud. I'm pretty sure the laws of time travel suggest that if the two meet the universe will implode."

"There are laws of time travel?" Sephiroth asked.

Angeal waved the idea away before Zack could speak again, "He's talking about bad movies. Don't listen to him."

"Those ideas had to come from somewhere, 'Geal." Zack muttered as he scooped up the last of his meal, "It wasn't that long ago that you would have scoffed at seriously considering time travel at all."

Genesis tossed his empty plate into the trash, "My orders, General?"

"You will accompany me on patrol through the Wall Market and surrounding areas." Sephiroth said, calmly, "He has already had a swing at Angeal and Zack. Perhaps the two of us together will draw him out again."

Angeal climbed to his feet and threw away his empty plate, "I don't like that idea, Sephiroth. It's unnecessarily dangerous."

Sephiroth arched his eyebrows at his old friend. Angeal had never outright questioned his orders before. Angeal did not back down, but Sephiroth noticed the way he rubbed a hand over his ribs, "Look, I can't tell you what to do. I would suggest caution in provoking him, but I also know we're running out of time. Just… be careful. I'm going to go take care of the Cadets."

No one tried to stop him as he left. Zack sighed and scratched the back of his neck anxiously, "He's not healing up right. He doesn't want the two of you to know, but the hell with it. This is no time for secrets like that. I… hugged him the other day, like I used to do. It nearly bent him in half. He said he's been to Hollander about it, but they can't figure out what's wrong. He's afraid you'll keep him out of the mission if you know."

"A poisoned blade?" Genesis suggested.

Zack ran a hand over the scar on his chin, "I don't know. Maybe? He only cut me the once, but I feel fine. I doubt this would have scarred if I hadn't worn myself out trying to heal Angeal. I just let it close up naturally since it was so small.

"We will be cautious." Sephiroth said, "Keep your phone on you at all times. If we encounter him, we will call before we attempt to engage him."

"I'll put a squad of the best Seconds we've got on standby for the day." Zack said, "Just keep me posted when you move locations."

Sephiroth rose from his seat, "Genesis, are you ready to leave now?"

"More than ready." Genesis growled. His expression had darkened at the news of Angeal's persisting injury. The anger in his eyes spelled trouble for Strife when they caught him, "My soul, corrupted by vengeance; Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey; In my own salvation; And your eternal slumber."

Zack tossed a wave over his shoulder as he left them to finish their preparations, "Happy hunting."


	5. Chapter 5

It was grotesque, even by Sephiroth's standards. He had hated Hojo, had often wished him dead in horrible ways, but he had never brought himself to follow through with it. In the end, he always decided that it would be beneath him to give into his baser urges to gut the man. The fallout afterwards would make it more trouble than it was worth.

Apparently Strife did not agree.

The entire lab was a disaster. Anything that was not bolted down was left in a twisted, melted heap. Every piece of glass was broken, windows, beakers, syringes, containers of any kind. His booted feet crunched over the shards as he walked. Even some of the unbreakable glass from the observation tanks had been shattered and melted down. How many times had he imagined doing that as a child?

He had been informed that the upper laboratory was in shambles as well. Liberal use of fire spells had been used to destroy every file and sample. There was nothing left of the computers but smoking piles of plastic. Even back up computers and storage drives located in other areas of the building had been destroyed.

The most impressive piece had been a tank in the lower labs that had been forcibly ripped from the wall and crushed into misshapen scrap. There had been mako in the tank, but Sephiroth had no idea what else it had housed. Whatever it had been was burnt into ash.

It was easily millions of dollars of gil in damages and at the center of it was Hojo's head.

It was like a strange shrine. There was only one metal table that had been left untouched in the middle of the room. In the center of the table was Hojo's head. His hair was still held back in its normal ponytail and his glasses hung crookedly from his nose, but there was nothing beyond his chin. His body was nowhere to be seen.

Sephiroth forced himself to examine what remained of Hojo. The cut had been made clean, one solid blow from a sharp blade. It had likely been a quick death. Sephiroth was not sure if he was disappointed by that.

He spotted a Turk, a redhead with a wrinkled jacket. It took him a moment to remember the Turk's name, Reno, a sign of just how tired he was.

If Reno was disturbed to suddenly have Shinra's most dangerous weapon at his side, he did not show it, "General."

"You were the first on the scene?" Sephiroth asked.

"After the assistant who sounded the alarm. Cameras went down at about ten o'clock. Security got a dummy feed of the empty lab. No one heard anything, yo. Don't know how you do this kind of damage without making noise." Reno shook his head, hands jingling gil coins in his pocket, "At about ten forty-seven an assistant came back to the labs because she forgot her keys. Said the place was like this and some of the metal was still smoldering. Nobody in sight."

Sephiroth nodded, "The president?"

"Dead as fuck, yo."

Sephiroth had not expected that, "Explain."

Reno's lips twitched, disinterested façade cracking. Sephiroth was not sure if it was the memory or the order that caused it, "He was torn apart and left around his office. It was not pretty. Rufus is taking care of stuff from Junon under a heavy ass guard until we can clear him to come here. I'm sure he'll be getting in touch with you soon."

"I should probably have something to report, then." Sephiroth nodded to Reno and turned to leave.

Genesis and Angeal waited for him in the hallway, looking grim. Genesis clutched a short blade in his hands with a distinctive cross guard that almost looked like a piece of a gear. Neither looked keen to enter the lab. Sephiroth arched an eyebrow in question.

"Hollander is dead." Genesis said without preamble. He held the blade out to Sephiroth hilt first, "This was stabbed through his chest."

"It's one of Strife's blades." Angeal added quietly, "More specifically, the one he used to break Zack's fingers. Needless to say, I sent him off to check the Cadet wing so his temper cooled."

"Hojo is dead." Sephiroth said, gesturing for his two friends to head back the way they had come, "The president as well. Both fairly brutally killed if Reno's accounts are to be believed."

"I suppose Strife is done waiting." Genesis murmured blandly, "How exciting for us."

Sephiroth sighed and rubbed his forehead with his free hand. Angeal made a noise of sympathy, "Still have that headache?"

"No… at least not the same one." Sephiroth gave him a small smile. The three of them had called for an early night after severe headaches threatened to cripple them all. Genesis and Sephiroth had found nothing of interest in the slums, save an empty church full of flowers. There was no sign of Strife anywhere and no one recalled seeing him. He was relieved to see neither Angeal nor Genesis seemed to be suffering any discomfort, "The pain eased off about ten minutes before I received the call to come to the labs."

"That is unsettling." Angeal said, pressing the elevator call button, "It was the same for me."

"And me." Genesis added, frowning, "I hate this."

Neither Angeal nor Sephiroth said anything. There was nothing to say. They stepped into the elevator and Sephiroth punched the button for the Soldier floor. It was unlikely that he would be getting more sleep until they decided what to do next.

Zack was leaned against the wall outside of Sephiroth's office. He scowled at the blade before turning his attention to Sephiroth, "The Cadet wing is fine. The guard said they never saw or heard anything out of the ordinary. I've told them to be on high alert and called in a second set of guards as backup. They're not thrilled to be dragged out of bed, but they didn't complain when they found out that there was a security breach."

Sephiroth opened the door and let out a small sigh of relief when he found it empty. Part of him had expected to find the blonde swordsman waiting for them or a morbid warning written in Hojo's blood on the windows. Strife was obviously unhinged or had a grudge… perhaps both.

He leaned the short blade against the wall behind his desk and listened to Angeal bring Zack quickly up to speed. Zack cursed quietly under his breath. Sephiroth wanted to lean his head against the window, to take a moment and regain his slipping composure. His control of events slipped further and further out of his grasp every moment.

He could feel the heavy gazes of Zack, Angeal and Genesis watching him. They needed him to be a leader. The time for weakness would come, but it was not now. He turned to face them again, "It is obvious that we have to do something. My dislike of Hojo is well known, as is my distaste for the president, Both were guilty of crimes too numerous to count, but it was not Strife's place to be their judge and executioner."

"Hollander was not much better, but he did not deserve to die like that." Angeal added, hand tracing his ribs unconsciously, "He's the only one who knew about the process that made Genesis and I Soldiers. We needed him."

Genesis took one of the chairs before Sephiroth's desk, "Tonight is proof that Strife will come for us if we do not seek him out. He can easily get into the building and out again without alerting a single person. If we wait, he will probably just come for us here."

"But you and Sephiroth looked for him today." Zack pointed out, "You were in the slums all afternoon and couldn't find him. What is he waiting for?"

Everyone was silent a moment. Zack had meant the question rhetorically, but it was the whole of the problem. Strife was obviously waiting for something.

"Let's examine what we know." Angeal said, taking the other chair, "Operating under the assumption that Strife somehow managed to take theoretical materia studies and use them to travel back in time… he initially attacked Soldiers on missions. None of the Soldiers killed had ties to the others, other than being in Soldier. Strife killed both Seconds and Thirds. It appears he did this to draw us out."

"He got the information straight from Shinra. They gave it to him and kept Sephiroth from putting all missions on standby." Zack added, doing squats beside the door to burn off his anxious energy so he could think, "We figured that out when he mentioned how I should not have been on the mission where he fought the both of us."

"He plays by his own rules, though." Genesis added, "He refused to kill Angeal when he had the opportunity because Shinra had lied to him. He also refused to kill Zack at all. Tonight he murdered the two highest ranking scientists and the president himself. The three of them would have provided him with his power and information."

"Revenge for lying about Zack?" Angeal suggested, "He was furious about that."

"That's the worst part of this for me. It's like he thinks he's protecting me! What's so special about me!?"

Zack rose from his last squat and punched the wall, his fist going clear through the plaster and wood. The thunk of his head hitting against the wall echoed in the silence that followed his outburst. He sighed, "I'm sorry guys. I just… this isn't what I thought being a First would be like, you know?"

"It certainly isn't the initiation we would have wanted for you." Angeal said, going to his former student and gently removing his hand from the crumbling drywall and enfolding him in a hug, "I'm sorry, pup."

Zack chuckled at the old nickname and allowed himself to enjoy the comfort of his mentor's arms for a moment, "Thanks 'Geal."

"We're too tired for this tonight." Genesis said at last, "We need sleep and clear heads before we come back to this again. Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare."

"Any chance we could just load up in a truck and escape for a while?" Zack asked with a weak grin, "Let this be someone else's mess for a couple hours while we go sun in the wastes."

Sephiroth looked at him sharply, "Perhaps that's not such a bad idea."

The others stared at him. Angeal snorted in disbelief, "You can't be serious."

"I am. Perhaps the issue is that we are rarely together anymore. Since this all began, we have been on separate missions to ensure things continue to run smoothly." Sephiroth turned his sharp gaze on Angeal, "The mission where he attacked you, you said he was oddly focused on you. He would have left your squad alone had they fled?"

"That was the impression I got." Angeal agreed, "He also was in no real hurry to kill me. It was almost like he was trying to determine if I would get up again before he killed me."

"He was testing you." Sephiroth said, feeling oddly eager, "We three, and now Zack, are Shinra's strongest weapons. Maybe he was gauging how difficult it would be to take us all at once. He fears what would happen if he picked us off instead of taking us all in one fight."

Genesis nodded, picking up Sephiroth's enthusiasm, "He just struck a decisive blow at Shinra. He has made it essentially impossible for Soldier to continue by destroying all the research and samples in the lab. Even if there were backups somewhere, it would be difficult to go on without Hojo and Hollander."

"If he kills us all at once, Shinra's military would crumble. No one would stay if the greatest of Shinra's warriors fell." Sephiroth scowled at the thought of losing all he had bled and sweat for. He may not have been able to consent at first, but it had become his life's work, "With the Science Department in shambles and Rufus's claim to the company shaky, Shinra would fall apart. If he could not get us all at once, he knows we would fall back and bring more reinforcements than he could handle."

"So let's start at that level." Zack said, cradling his wounded hand, "Let's rally up in the morning and force this guy out into the open."

"He'd never come out." Angeal said, "There's too many places he could hide in the slums. We'd spend weeks chasing our tails."

Sephiroth nodded, "That's why we should go, alone. If we started taking trips out to the wastes every day at the same time, eventually Strife would show."

It was time. They all knew it.

"Let's talk about it in the morning." Angeal said finally, "We need a good night's sleep before we make any decisions. Come over to my place in the morning and I'll cook breakfast."

Everyone murmured their agreements and rose to leave. At the last moment, Sephiroth grabbed Strife's short blade. If the man wanted it, he could come take it from Sephiroth's apartment. Sephiroth smiled at the thought, even as he knew that it would not happen.


	6. Chapter 6

No one had a better plan in the morning. Knowing Strife was loose in the city limited their options. He was obviously crazy enough to come kill the highest ranking members of the company in the most highly fortified building in the world. There was no telling what else he would do or who he would hurt in the process. Even Angeal, who had the most reservations about trying to draw Strife out, could not argue with that logic.

They quickly dressed for a fight and gathered their strongest materia and accessories. They took a company truck and drove it through the city and out to the wastes. No one had expected to find him the first day, but they all watched the shadows, hoping to spot him.

For four tense days, they repeated the routine. Breakfast at Angeal's followed by a trip out to the cliffs for sparring. On the fifth day, they found him waiting for them.

Despite their plan, it was still a surprise to find Cloud Strife perched casually on a rock. His blade was disassembled into its separate pieces and spread around him. He had the smallest blade, twin to the one that Sephiroth held, in his lap. He used a soft cloth to bring the polished metal to a shine.

"Son of a bitch…" Zack murmured, surprised in spite of himself.

"Hello to you, too." Cloud replied without looking up, "I heard that you've been looking for me."

Genesis drew his rapier, the metal ringing in the emptiness of the wastes. Cloud snorted and did not as much as twitch, "You're not going to fight me yet."

"Are you certain?" Genesis asked, fingers twitching with the desire to power up his blade with the materia it held.

Cloud looked up with a lazy shrug, "Kill me, then. You'll never know why I was here, what my purpose was. The rest will take care of itself. Thankfully, I'll be too dead to care by that point."

When no one moved, Cloud let out a quiet chuckle and set the blade in his lap on the stone in front of him, "Thought so. My sword if you please, General."

"You can't honestly think he's just going to give that to you." Zack said.

"Give it, don't give it." There was another shrug, "One short blade won't make that much of a difference."

Sephiroth shook his head, but crossed the gap between them and held the sword out to his opponent, hilt first. Cloud took it, glancing up at Sephiroth with no sign of fear, "Thank you."

"We believe we have some of it worked out." Sephiroth said, stepping away and crossing his arms across his chest. For a moment, he began to understand why so many people found him unnerving. Outnumbered and alone, Strife should have shown some sign of unease. Instead he was almost bored, speaking to them like they were nothing instead of the deadliest warriors in the world. He never doubted that they would dance to his tune. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

Cloud arched an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"You're a time traveler." Zack said quickly, words sharp with anger, "You used materia to come back in time."

Cloud's other eyebrow joined the first in surprise, "That was your first thought?"

Zack scowled, "Hell no. It was the last, desperate one. It was the only way we could explain Cadet Strife."

"Ah. Hadn't thought about that. Interesting that you came to that conclusion on your own." Cloud said, using another cloth to get the bits of dried blood off of his short blade, "Well, now is the time. I'll answer any questions you want until my sword is clean. Then, I'll kill you… or you'll kill me."

"You mean, you expect us to believe you traveled back in time just to kill us?" Genesis asked.

"I didn't expect you to believe anything." Cloud replied tartly, "Zack's the one who said you had come to that conclusion already. I can try and prove it, if you want to waste time."

Genesis scowled but thankfully said nothing. Sephiroth took over the questioning before he could find his tongue again, "What is your purpose?"

"I'm here to stop all of the disasters that are coming." Cloud said, "The world ends in about ten or so years. I'm not clear on when I am exactly… but it's definitely less than fifteen years from now."

Sephiroth snorted, "You alone can do it?"

"I couldn't manage it when I had help." Cloud said, his fingers rubbing at a particularly stubborn stain on the edge of the blade, "Thought I'd try something different this time."

Angeal stepped closer, "Why did Shinra help you?"

"Hn. So you did survive." Cloud looked up, eyes skimming up and down Angeal's body, "I really didn't think you would."

Angeal glowered at the blonde, but did not say anything more. Cloud rolled his eyes, "I went to Shinra when I got back. Obviously, you know I was a Cadet. I knew the company, knew the people who are in charge. It was laughably easy to convince them that I was telling the truth. Hojo saw what I was after I let him take a little blood. I was proof that his greatest scientific endeavor succeeded. I promised him the secret of time travel once I accomplished my goals. He just didn't realize that one of those goals was to kill him. The greedy whack job thought he was smart enough to use me."

"You admit you killed him?" Sephiroth asked, not really surprised.

Strife's smile was a little eerie, "I did. I enjoyed doing it. You should have done it years ago. None of this would have happened if you had just snapped his neck like you used to think about."

No one knew what to say to that. Cloud only shook his head and flipped his blade to clean the other side, "The president was easier to manipulate. He already feared Soldier. He knew no one could truly control you. I told him that I would take care of Soldier and kill all of you in return for peace and comfort. He couldn't sell you out fast enough."

"Did it never occur to you to come to us for help?" Angeal asked, "We'd make much better allies than enemies."

"Trust me, I know that better than some." Cloud said, voice flat. He set aside his cloth and picked up a second blade, slotting them together, "Time's running out. Make the last few questions count."

"It just doesn't make sense." Angeal growled, "We're all reasonable men. We may have all taken orders that we probably shouldn't at one point or another, but do you honestly believe we would do something that would end all life on the Planet if we could prevent it."

"You don't deny time travel." Genesis added, grudging respect mixed with incredulity in his voice, "You speak to us like you know us, that suggests a familiarity that few have. Alright, perhaps it's not a good association, but things are different right now and-"

"And I should offer you the opportunity to make right the wrongs of the potential future." Cloud said, imitating Genesis's usual inflections and patterns of speech with devastating accuracy.

Genesis's mouth closed with a snap as the words were stolen straight from his brain. An uneasy silence fell between them.

Finally Zack said, "This isn't the first time you've done this."

It was a statement, not a question. Cloud answered it like it was anyway, "No, it's not."

Even Sephiroth's usual unflappable calm was shaken, "How many times?"

"I've… lost count. Time stops having meaning after you see how many ways it can all go wrong." For a moment, they could all see the weariness in eyes that were too old for the rest of him. He shrugged and continued to assemble his blade, "The first time was the worst. We fought and fought, kept coming when we were called… every few years there would be a new threat trying to end the world and we succeeded every time… until we didn't."

"You know us so well. I spar with Sephiroth, Genesis and even Zack regularly and none of them could keep up with me the way you did." Angeal said, "That kind of knowledge is hard to come by. It speaks of years of working together… or maybe lifetimes. You've obviously had that since the first time we failed. Maybe with some work we could fix the problems… let us try again."

"Us? You think I meant… no. None of you even survived the first time around. " Cloud laughed bitterly, "I never even met you the first time through Angeal. You were already dead before I had the chance. You forced Zack to kill you the day I met him."

The air rushed out of Angeal's lungs as if he had been punched. The color drained from Zack's face, leaving him ashen. The four Soldiers stood transfixed as Cloud continued with the detached coldness most men reserved for a particularly difficult mission report, "Genesis started the events of the original timeline when he took an injury from Sephiroth during a spar that never healed. Degradation they called it. He started to lose his mind and defected with a large portion of Soldier. Angeal went after him, tried to get him to see reason until he began to degrade, too. You attacked Zack to make him kill you when you couldn't take it anymore."

Cloud's hateful eyes turned on Sephiroth next, "They thought you had some sort of cure or were immune, but the effects were just slower. Your mind degraded first… or you simply went insane. On a routine mission to check on the mako reactor in Nibelheim, you burnt down the town and killed everyone there. You later went back to Midgar and killed the president… you killed so many people. Then, you tried to summon a meteor to wipe out the whole planet."

If the loathing in his eyes had been fierce when he looked at Sephiroth, it was nothing compared to the way he looked at Genesis, "You were the one who finally tipped the scales. The Planet restored you, saved you and you-"

"What?" Genesis asked when Cloud choked off his words, his voice uncharacteristically small, "What did I do?"

"You rallied the remaining Soldiers into an army… there had been bad blood between the enhanced and civilians after everything and you were one of Shinra's shining Firsts. I guess you learned from the mistakes made by the others. You killed everyone who had ever helped me." Cloud's fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade, obviously at the end of his patience, "You said it was the will of the Planet, the reason you had been saved from Degradation. You destroyed everything, but you weren't insane. You were completely yourself to the end.

"We found the studies on theoretical time manipulation through materia right before the planet died. It used the last of its energy to send me back." Cloud's laugh was tinged with hysteria now, "I tried everything I could think of. I told you the truth, I lied, I ignored you completely… destroyed Jenova, didn't destroy Jenova-"

"My mother?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud's blue eyes snapped up to meet Sephiroth's as he jumped to his feet, "She's not your damn mother you lunatic. You ignored almost everything else Hojo has ever told you. Why do you always believe that?"

Sephiroth blinked in surprise. No one had ever dared to talk to him that way before. The whole thing was so surreal that he could not find it in himself to get angry, "I… do not know. If… you know the truth… you could-"

"It doesn't help." Cloud said flatly, "I've tried that a dozen times… more. Never really matters. Nothing makes a difference."

Angeal knew what was coming. There was the barest shift in Cloud's stance to better balance himself. He was done talking. The second anyone else so much as breathed too deeply, Cloud would swing his blade and the fight would be on. Angeal mentally prepared himself to make the first move. It was unlikely he would survive this second encounter, and even if he did it would no longer matter.

Degradation, Strife had called it. His wounds would never really heal and eventually he would lose his mind… madness strong enough that he would force a friend to kill him. He did not want to live long enough to see it. He was the weakest link in their team. Being the first one into the fray would give Sephiroth, Genesis and Zack time to try and out think the blonde warrior.

Just as his hand twitched to reach for the Buster Sword, Zack's voice stopped him, "What about me?"

Cloud's head jerked in Zack's direction, almost as if he had forgotten Zack were there. His eyes met Zack's a moment before they slid away, "You should have left when I told you and not come back."

"Yeah? Why is that?" Zack challenged, trying to keep his voice from cracking under the strain of the anger and fear, "What is it about me that's so special? How bad was I that you can hardly look at me? What did I do!?"

"Nothing. No matter what happened, no matter how bad things got, you always did your best to help. You were always so sure there was a right answer." Cloud looked back at Zack, eyes wild and pleading, "You're one of the two truly good people on this planet. Just once, I wish you would listen to me. There's a girl in a church in the Sector Five slums who needs you. Go to her, be with her, protect her. Let me take care of the rest."

Zack did not know this man outside of the hatred he had felt since that first fight. Cloud Strife was a murderer and quite possibly insane, but for a moment he felt something stir deep in his chest. It was almost instinctual, the urge to cross the gap between them and comfort the other man. He bit down on it fiercely, refusing to be moved by Strife's plea, but the words that came out of his mouth were soft, almost regretful, "I can't do that."

Cloud's eyes drifted shut, nodding weakly, "I know."

When his eyes opened again, they were cold. He shifted into a better stance to fight, "I'm done talking."

Genesis brought his sword up to salute the man, before flicking it down in front of him. He glanced at Sephiroth with a small smile, "You know, I always assumed I would die in a glorious fight against you one day. They would write an epic story about our rivalry that would put Loveless to shame."

"There's an easy solution to that." Sephiroth murmured, swinging his blade down into a ready position, "Don't die. I'll happily kill you later, if you're still interested."

Zack rolled his eyes, drawing his own blade, "You guys are really going to do this now?"

"If not now, when?" Sephiroth asked.

"This day will never come again." Genesis added, turning his focus back to the enemy, "Most of us, maybe all of us, will not live to see the next sunrise. Legend shall speak; Of sacrifice at world's end; The wind sails over the water's surface; Quietly, but surely."

"There's nothing quiet about your sacrifice." Sephiroth muttered without heat.

"Cretin."

"Focus." Angeal said, drawing the Buster Sword at last, "Don't take Strife lightly."

"Noted." Genesis and Sephiroth said at once.

It was uncanny, the way that Angeal and Strife swung their blades up into the same identical guard position. Strife nodded, "Let's begin."


	7. Chapter 7

Zack could feel the eyes on him as he walked into the slums. He could not blame them. He was covered in blood and caked with dust and the planet only knew what else. His uniform was torn, revealing more than one healing wound on his body. He had lost one of his pauldrons at one point, but he had not bothered to look for it in the aftermath. His gloves were long lost to the wastes. He had pulled them off to make searching for healing items in his pockets easier. The blood on them made them too slick to get a good grip on anything.

He had returned to headquarters, to report the successful termination of the target and the deaths of Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis to Lazard. Even thinking the words made him want to be ill. He had watched it happen, watched as each of the planet's greatest warriors fell beneath the blade of a madman, and he still did not believe it. Part of him still hoped that it was all some kind of hallucination, that he would get back to Shinra HQ later and find Angeal prowling the Soldier floor to scold him for missing their scheduled training session.

Angeal. He could not think about Angeal. He had leapt at Strife first, despite his lingering injuries… or maybe because of them. He had been the first to fall, too. Angeal had held Strife at bay for a few strikes, but Strife had not been testing him this time. He went straight for Angeal's throat. His mentor had been dead before the cure spell had ever left Sephiroth's hand.

Zack felt bile rising in his throat and swallowed hard to keep it at bay.

He had walked back from the cliffs, not trusting himself behind the wheel of a vehicle in his grief stricken state. It had been a long walk after a long, horrible fight, but it had given him time to cry and gather himself as he prepared to make his formal report. No one stopped him as he walked through the lobby. An entire elevator cleared out for him. He took it straight up to Lazard's office.

The blond director of Soldier had taken one look at him and let his head drop into his hands.

The debriefing went quickly with Zack giving the driest, briefest report of the incident he could. He explained the discovery that the former president and Professor Hojo had been feeding Strife information. He mentioned the report of Strife showing up in the city and their decision to draw him out. Zack even told Lazard about their time travel theory. The man had been too shocked to argue with him.

Zack told Lazard that he was putting in for leave. He agreed to stay around for a few days while things were sorted out, but then he wanted out of Midgar for a while. He needed to get away from the memories and the questions. He was now Shinra's most powerful Soldier. The last of the Elite Firsts. It was all that he had ever wanted, but this was not what he had imagined at all.

He had tried to go back to his apartment for a shower, but his hand began to tremble as he reached for the doorknob. He knew that the rooms would be empty for the first time in weeks. They had all agreed to keep an eye on each other. They rotated between apartments to keep anyone from being sure of which men were occupying which apartments. That last night, Genesis had stayed in his spare room.

Genesis was not waiting to make sure he returned from his late night walk to burn off nervous energy. There was a copy of Loveless on the coffee table that Genesis would never read again. Zack knew he would have to move it… did not know how he would find the strength. Only weeks ago he would have hidden the damned thing under the couch cushions, just to watch Genesis squawk.

Genesis, who had bled out from a massive wound on his chest that would not be healed with materia. He had begged Zack to make Strife suffer with his last breath, a bloody hand clenched in the front of Zack's standard issue uniform top.

Zack had fled the Shinra building entirely after that.

He had started walking and did not stop until he was in the Slums. He could not handle the artificial brightness and cleanliness of the upper city. The lower city was darker, more dangerous. It suited his mood.

He did not pay attention to where he was, could not bring himself to care. It was not until he was in Sector Five that he realized how far he had gone. Too much farther and he would hit the wall. There was a checkpoint that he could cross, but it would only bring him back out to the wastes again. He knew better than to go back there right now. Just seeing the dry, cracked ground might push him over the edge into true madness.

That part of the slums was quieter, almost deserted it seemed. Hardly anyone shared the road with him. The few houses in the area seemed deserted, which was odd because some of the buildings in the area seemed nicer than the building that had been cobbled together from pieces of scrap in the more populated areas.

One of these buildings was quite large and seemed sound. Most of the windows were whole, if covered with dirt. The large wooden doors up front looked sturdy, surrounded by heavy grey stone. Only the roof seemed to be falling apart, but that could have been easily patched. It looked like…

There's a girl in a church in the Sector Five slums who needs you.

Zack did not want to look… did not want to have anything to do with what that murderer thought he should do with what was left of his life. Another part of him was curious to see what someone like Cloud Strife would kill for. More than that, he wanted to know what Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth had died for.

The doors gave a groan when he pushed them open. The inside of the church was much like the outside, a little run down and dirty but not anything like the rest of the slums. A few of the pews were broken or missing and spots of the wooden floor were pulled up. The entire floor in front of the altar was torn apart and flowers grew in a faint patch of sunlight that had managed to get through the plate above. It was beautiful… and empty.

Zack let out a ragged laugh as he came to stand at the edge of the flower bed. That would be something. Strife had come back and changed things enough that this mystery girl he expected Zack to find and look after no longer existed. It would serve the bastard right. With the exception of the garden, there was no sign that anyone was living there at all.

Despite the emptiness, the church was welcoming. He felt a measure of peace for the first time in weeks. Briefly, he considered curling up beside the flowers and sleeping until he felt halfway human again.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the shock in Sephiroth's face as Strife's glowing blade slid home over and over again. The bastard moved too fast for Zack or Sephiroth to block. Strife was constantly leaping, reaching for the next blade and driving it into the General's flesh faster than Zack could even see. Zack had caught Sephiroth before he could fall, had listened to the wet gasp of the General's dying breath… watched the life flee his eyes.

Yeah, he was not sleeping any time soon. Or possibly ever again.

He reached behind him and pulled Strife's sword from the magnetic sheath that held it against his back. It was his prize and his burden to bear. Like the first time they had met, Strife refused to kill him. Instead he disarmed Zack, forcing him to listen as he related their supposed history. Some other version of Zack had deemed Strife worthy of saving. He had dragged Strife's comatose body from Nibelheim to Midgar before being murdered by the army on the cliffs.

With his last breath, that other Zack had charged Strife to live for both of them, shoving the Buster Sword into his hands. Strife had handed him the Fusion Sword and asked to be released from that promise. He died quietly and without a struggle. Zack almost felt guilty for not making him suffer as Genesis had asked. At that point, he had just wanted it to be over.

Setting the monstrosity aside, he let himself sink to his knees, bone weary. He did not know how to make sense of anything that had happened. Their lives had all changed in the blink of an eye. He hated Cloud Strife more than he had ever hated anything in his whole life. He knew that kind of hatred was a sickness that would poison him, but he did not know how to let it go.

He was all that was left of Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth. He was the proof that they existed, not as Shinra's weapons, but as men who lived and breathed. Zack wanted to be worthy of that kind of responsibility.

Time lost meaning as he stared at the flowers. With the plate covering the slums, the light never really moved or changed. It was easy to lose track of everything as he remembered his fallen friends. Everyone accepted death as a very real possibility of their profession, but he never expected to outlive Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth. They were the untouchable heroes. Even if he had lost one of them, he should have had the others to help him manage. They were never put on missions together for that reason.

For a moment he was angry that they had left all this responsibility on his shoulders. Shinra was falling apart. The president was dead, murdered in his office. The heads of the science department were killed the same night. Now the three strongest military leaders were killed in the same fight. Zack had been trained by all of them, even if Angeal had been his only official mentor. That put him above even the other Firsts, men who had been Firsts much longer than he had.

Even in the brief time he had been back at the Shinra building, he could see how the others looked at him. They expected him to know what happened next and trusted him to see them through. It was the same look they had once given Sephiroth. Luxiere and Kunsel should have been blowing up his inbox with messages. Their silence spoke volumes… and it hurt almost as badly as losing Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis.

"Hello?"

Zack tensed, readying himself for an attack. Weeks of being on high alert had frayed his nerves. He could see the girl stiffen, her face wary. She was young, though probably not too much younger than he was and dressed simply. Her long brown hair was bound up in a braid. She was obviously here to work in the garden, a wicker basket of tools clutched in her arms.

He forced himself to relax, pulling his hand away from the sword hilt he had not even realized he reached for. Whoever she was, she was not a threat to him.

There's a girl in a church in the Sector Five slums who needs you.

When she seemed sure that he would not attack her, she straightened her shoulders and let out a little sigh. As she came down the aisle, she grinned, "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you, Mister Soldier."

"It's alright." He replied, wincing at how rough his voice sounded, "I shouldn't be intruding."

Her laugh was light and sweet, "It's a garden in an abandoned church in the slums. You're hardly intruding."

Zack shrugged at that, "I guess I'll just stay here a bit… if it doesn't bother you."

"Soldiers are usually kind of scary…" She was close enough for him to get a good look at her. She was a pretty girl with a mouth made for smiling. Her green eyes were soft with sympathy, "You just look sad. If being here is giving you some comfort, I won't take it from you. Just don't hurt the flowers."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He replied, shifting into a more comfortable position. He stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his arms to watch as she worked with the flowers.

She made her way around the edge of the garden, checking to see that the soil was damp and pulling weeds where she found them. From time to time, she would stop and run her fingers over the petals of one flower or the leaves of another. Sometimes she hummed out a little tune, almost under her breath. Zack wondered if she knew she was doing it.

Once she had checked over all she could from the edge, she slipped off her shoes and moved into the middle of the garden. She stepped far more carefully, until she reached a bare patch where she could kneel. Zack smiled a little, she had been serious about not hurting the flowers.

Like the place itself, there was something peaceful about watching her work. She did not seem to pay him any mind, even as he watched her. Few could be so unconcerned with the eyes of a Soldier on them. Then again, she was obviously something different.

Go to her

Be with her

Protect her

"I'm sorry."

The girl's voice pulled her out of them memory of Strife's words. Her hand was poised over one of the flowers, head turned slightly as if she could hear something. When their eyes met, she blinked and went back to pulling weeds with a faint blush, "You lost someone dear to you recently…"

"Several someones, actually." Zack said. It was not a hard thing to guess, but he was curious as to what would make her mention it, especially since she had not said a word since arriving, "How did you-"

She giggled abruptly and then quickly covered her mouth, horrified, "Sorry! It's just… puppy is so… cute!"

Zack forced himself to sit up, cocking his head to the side and studying her. The giggles began again and she flapped a hand at him, "You have to stop! This is so inappropriate. I'm not laughing at you, you know. It's just… with your head like that… he called you that once. He wrote a letter to his mother right after you became his student to describe you to her. He said it was like having the puppy he always wanted."

Angeal. He could not breathe. She was talking about Angeal.

"She wrote him back… told him that she thought he was finally ready for the responsibility." The girl smiled down at the flowers, her fingers caressing the petals, "Every time he worried about training you or doubted himself, he reread that letter."

"He… doubted himself?" Zack asked, voice raw. She spoke with such certainty, like she knew him.

"All the time. You were his first student. He wanted to be sure he did right by you and taught you what you needed to know to survive. He's afraid that you'll think he wasn't proud of you. He was never properly excited about your promotion because of the situation you were all facing." When she looked up at him, her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, "You exceeded his expectations in every way. He was so proud… they all were."

When she did not continue, Zack whispered, "Don't stop. Please?"

The girl blinked rapidly, forcing tears back. She came over to him, kneeling down so she could wipe her thumb along his cheek. He had not realized he was crying again. With a little sound of annoyance, she pulled a handkerchief from her basket and dabbed at his face, "Sorry. Had dirt on my thumb and didn't realize it. Let me get that for you."

"What?"

"I… don't have control over it." She admitted, apologetically, "Your friend was very insistent, but I'm afraid he drifted away from me again. Don't worry, though. That one is very strong willed. He'll watch over you for a long time yet. I think there were others, but I couldn't… I'm sorry."

They sat in silence for a moment while she wiped the tears from his cheeks. The handkerchief was filthy when she was done. With a small chuckle, she took his hand and pressed the damp cloth into it, "Here. You keep that."

"Sorry." Zack scratched the back of his neck, aware of how awful he must look, "Today's been a weird day. I… uh…"

"Need to talk about it?" She asked, hands still wrapped around his fist, "I've been told I'm an excellent listener."

Zack shook his head, "It's… you don't need to hear about something that awful."

"What? Because I'm a girl or something?" She said, fixing him with a glare, "I'm tougher than I look. Try me."

He told her everything. It was the opposite of the report to Shinra, full of thoughts and emotions that had been too complicated to express earlier. Like the urge to comfort Strife before their fight, he knew instinctually that he could talk to this girl. She was practically a stranger and yet he told her things he was barely able to admit to himself.

He described Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth as men, not the warriors Shinra advertised. Talked about their quirks and habits, the annoying things they did and said. He told her how much he missed them already and how he feared going home, because it meant that he had to accept the loss of them. Talking about it was cathartic. The sorrow was still there, raw and stinging like a fresh wound, but it was easier to bear than it had been only an hour before. Through it all, the girl sat beside him, holding his filthy hand.

"I want to do right by them, but I don't know what to do." Zack admitted at the end, "I don't even know where to start."

"Well. If it were me, I'd start with a shower. You're a mess."

Her tone was so frank and insensitive that it surprised a laugh out of Zack. She was grinning at him again, "I mean it! If you can't handle your own apartment, go commandeer somebody else's. That's a military term, right? Maybe take that Lazard guy's shower… make him think you've snapped. It could be funny. Either way, you can't begin to heal with their blood literally on your hands."

"Oh man… I didn't even think…" Zack tried to pull his hand from hers, "I'm sorry, miss. You shouldn't be-"

"Stop it. I'm not stupid. I knew what I was getting into when I touched you." She rolled her eyes and tightened her hands on his, "You need this, something to ground you. I don't mind."

Zack stopped struggling and relaxed again. Her thumb was rubbing soothing circles against his knuckles. It was kind of nice to have someone to tell him what to do, even if it was just something as common sense as cleaning up after a battle. She really was helping to ground him, "Alright. Shower. I can do that."

"Then sleep." She instructed, "Even if it's just a little. You need to sleep before you can make any kind of plans. Come back down here, if you have to. I keep a blanket and a pillow in the back. The pews aren't comfy, but… well, the offer's there. Once you get some sleep, things won't seem quite so scary."

"You're right." Zack said, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand, "It seems so obvious when you say it like that. Of course I need to clean up and sleep before I try anything else."

"You're grieving. Allowances can be made." She stood and shifted her grip around his wrist so she could help pull him to his feet, "Come on, up with you."

Zack let her pull him to his feet. When she let him go, he tucked the handkerchief in his pocket and reached out to take her hands in his, "Thank you… for everything."

"I'm Aeris, by the way." She said, almost an afterthought, "It seems silly to do introductions now, but when I first walked in and saw you, I felt like… I knew you. Like, I should already know your name."

"It's Zack." He said, giving her fingers one last squeeze and letting them go.

He picked up his sword and fixed it to his sheath again. When he turned back, Aeris was still watching him. She gave him a nervous smile, "I'll see you again, right?"

Be with her

Protect her

Zack nodded, "Of course."

It was as strange a goodbye as their hello had been, but as he walked back out of the church, he knew he would see her again. Like much of the last weeks, it had a feeling of inevitability to it. A part of him resented Strife and wanted to struggle against what his life had become. He wanted to leave the city and never come back, ignoring Shinra, Aeris and whatever else was waiting for him.

It would mean spending the rest of his life on the run. That would not have been what his friends would have wanted for him. It was no way to honor their memories.

Shower then sleep. That was all he needed to do today. Angeal always said that a person needed a good night's sleep before making any big decisions. When he woke up, he would try making a big, Angeal style breakfast. Maybe he would try reading the copy of Loveless that Genesis had left on the coffee table. He could go steal something out of Sephiroth's apartment too… just so he had something tangible to remember the three of them by. After that, he would figure out what came next. He had nothing but time, now.

* * *

I want to take a second to thank 10kiaoi once again for the original prompt. This has been an absolute blast to write. I'm so glad you put this out there. Also thank you to everyone who made it this far. Every kudos and comment has really made me feel great. Hopefully you enjoyed the conclusion.

I'm ComeBackWhen on Tumblr as well. I do have some things posted there that haven't made their way here yet, if you're looking for more of my writing. Feel free to swing by and say hello if you do the Tumblr thing.

A lot of people have asked if there will be more to this. I have something I've been working on to kind of close out this 'verse. I'm not sure when it will be finished, but I'm hoping to have something sooner rather than later.


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